🔍 Key Concepts

• Sound propagation in water vs. air (water is much denser than air) • Relative speeds: sound in air is roughly 340 m/s at sea level; in water it is over 1,000 m/s • Think in terms of "a bit more than 4 times" vs "only 1–2 times" as a ballpark

💭 Think About

• First, recall an approximate real-world value for speed of sound in air at sea level, then compare it with a common approximate value for sound in seawater. • Ask yourself: is sound just slightly faster in water than air, or several times faster? That will let you eliminate some options. • Estimate: if sound were around 1,500 m/s in water, how many times 340 m/s (in air) would that be approximately?

✅ Before You Answer

• Make sure you are using order-of-magnitude reasoning (hundreds vs. over a thousand m/s). • Double-check that your chosen factor is consistent with 1,500 m/s in water as a typical reference value. • Eliminate any option that would give a speed in water that is still in the same hundreds range as in air (that would be unrealistically low).